PALM SPRINGS, CA - After Wednesday’s action, there are 16 competitors left in the pro men’s singles draw. Only two of those players had to make it through three rounds of qualifying Tuesday morning.

One of them is Chris Haworth, whose name continues to grow in the picklesphere following his bronze medal run at Nationals that featured an upset victory over Ben Johns.

Haworth began Wednesday with an 11-6, 11-7 victory over Anderson Scarpa and followed that up with a dramatic three-game battle against No. 9 seed Jaume Martinez Vich, emerging with the win 11-9, 8-11, 11-9.

He’ll next face No. 8 seed Pablo Tellez in Thursday’s Round of 16.

The other singles qualifier still vying for the first pro medal of 2024 is Marcel Chan.

Chan had about as tough a qualifying experience in singles as you could ask for, being pushed to a decisive third game in each one of his matches.

It’s been smooth sailing for him in the main draw, though, as he has yet to drop a game in three matches. After overcoming No. 21 seed Kyle Yates Tuesday night in the Play In round, he took down No. 27 seed Wyatt Stone Wednesday morning before moving past No. 15 seed Travis Rettenmaier that afternoon.

The key to his success in the main draw? Carbs.

“My boy took me to Cheesecake Factory last night, and from there I was locked in,” Chan said. “I had so many carbs and just nothing to lose today, and I took that to Travis.”

Chan’s next challenge comes in the form of No. 3 seed Tyson McGuffin. He knows the pressure that comes with playing a titan of the sport, but Marcel wants to forget all about the outside noise when he takes the court Thursday.

“I’m definitely looking forward to playing him, and I just want to continue playing loose because that’s definitely when I play my best.”

There was almost a third qualifier who made it to the Round of 16 on Wednesday. No. 10 seed Dylan Frazier found himself down a game and more to Patrick Kawka in their Round of 32 match, but he grinded out a comeback victory to start his 2024 campaign off with a singles win.

The 2023 bronze medalist faced an onslaught of devastating drives from Kawka, but he trusted in his mastery of the fundamentals to pull it out, 4-11, 12-10, 11-4. 

“I really just tried to stick to the basics,” he explained. “Get a good return, serve big, try to hit a good third and see what he gives me and go from there.”

Frazier will take on his friend and doubles partner JW Johnson in the Round of 16 on Thursday.